Gripping means for containers

ABSTRACT

A container blank ( 2 ) for forming a container having respective opposite first and second planar surfaces, and comprising a row of body portion forming panels (P 1 -P 4 ) arranged side-by-side, the boundaries between the panels being defined by respective boundary lines of weakness (S 1 -S 4 ) extending from top to bottom of the panels substantially perpendicularly to the row, at least one body portion forming panel (P 2 ) including a line of depression ( 12 ) in the first surface ( 14 ) which is not visible on the respective opposite second surface ( 16 ), the line of depression having a grip enhancing substance ( 18 ) deposited therein.

This invention relates to packaging and particularly to a laminatepackaging made of thermoplastics coated paperboard.

JP-A-2003276725 discloses a paper container consisting of a laminatemainly composed of paper and having recesses and protrusions at theouter surface of the container for the improvement of non-slipproperties, and a design effect. The laminate is provided with an innerlayer having at least a thermally adherent resin layer on one of thefaces of the paper and an outer layer having at least a thermallyadherent resin layer on the other face thereof. Recesses and protrusionsare provided at a part of the paper container to improve the non-slipproperties.

WO-A-0075038 relates to a commercial packaging that comprises at leastone plain or curved surface and an anti-theft strip, with a groove beingintroduced into the surface in which the anti-theft strip is located.

EPA-0615285 discloses integrated circuits such as transponders attachedto a substrate such as cardboard packaging material by adhering anintegrated circuit to the substrate, applying a patch antenna to thesubstrate and the integrated circuit, and applying a sealing layer overthe integrated circuit and at least a portion of the antenna. Anindentation may be formed in the substrate into which the integratedcircuit is placed. The patch antenna may be screen printed onto thesubstrate and the integrated circuit, using conductive ink, or may be ametallic foil which is applied to the substrate and the integratedcircuit. Where the integrated circuit is a transponder, it can beprogrammed with an identification code, either before or after beingattached to the substrate.

GB-A-2471268 discloses a stackable box having upstanding tabs on thetops of respective end panels, and holding tabs at the bottoms of sidepanels, and an indentation proximate the centre of the base of the box.Such a configuration allows an overlapping stack of boxes to be formedin which the upstanding tabs of a first box engage in the holding tabsof a second box and/or the indentation of the second box, when thesecond box is placed on top of the first.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provideda container blank for forming a container having respective oppositefirst and second planar surfaces, and comprising a row of body portionforming panels arranged side-by-side, the boundaries between said panelsbeing defined by respective boundary lines of weakness extending fromtop to bottom of said panels substantially perpendicularly to said row,at least one body portion forming panel including a line of depressionin the first surface which is not visible on the respective oppositesecond surface, the line of depression having a grip enhancing substancedeposited therein.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda container comprising a loop of body panels, the boundaries betweensaid panels being defined by respective boundary lines of weaknessextending from top to bottom of said panels substantiallyperpendicularly to said loop, each body panel having respective outsideand inside planar surfaces, the outside surface at least one of the bodypanels including a line of depression which is not visible on therespective inside surface, the line of depression having a gripenhancing substance deposited therein.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of forming a container blank of sheet material comprisingmarking the sheet material with a pattern of lines of weakness definingbody portion forming panels of the container blank, the container blankhaving respective opposite first and second planar surfaces, forming aline of depression in the first surface of at least one of the bodyportion forming panels which is not visible on the correspondinglocation of the second surface and depositing a grip enhancing substancein said line of depression.

Owing to these aspects, a substance with anti-slip properties can beapplied to the outside surface of a packaging material withoutinterfering with any part of a container production process.

Forming of a line of depression in a first planar surface of a laminatematerial which does not alter the surface profile of the opposing secondsurface has the advantage of maintaining the inside surface of bodyforming portions of the packaging material visibly smooth and free fromimpressions made by embossings or the like made on the first surface ofthe packaging material. This is particularly advantageous with asepticpackaging, where as smooth an inside surface as possible is desired, soas not to have any action made to the packaging material which risksdestroying the barrier features of the resultant container.

In a preferred embodiment, the grip enhancing material is afriction-increasing material to increase the amount of friction betweenthe fingers of a consumer and the body panels of the container. Othersubstances could be used to, for example, convey information to a usersuch as an indication of the temperature of the contents.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a container blank to be formed into acontainer,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a container constructed from thecontainer blank of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-section of a packaging material suitable forusing to construct the container of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 1, a container blank 2 having a first planar surfacethat will form the outer surface of a constructed container and a secondplanar surface that will form the inner surface of a constructedcontainer consists of a laminate comprising a paperboard substrate layerand respective outermost and innermost layers of a moisture barrierthermoplastics (with the possible interposition of an oxygen barrierlayer, e.g. aluminium foil, between the substrate and the innermostthermoplastics layer). The gable-topped container 4 or carton formedtherefrom (shown in FIG. 2) is used for packaging liquids, for examplemilk or fruit juice, and, in particular, the aseptic packaging of suchliquids.

In order to produce the container blank 2, a web of packaging materialcan be passed between a pair of rollers in a known manner which cutthrough the material around the edges of the blank and form the lines ofweakness which are visible on both the first planar surface of the blankwhich will from the outside surface of the final container and also thesecond planar surface of the blank which will form the inside surface ofthe final container.

The blank 2 consists of four body portion forming panels P1-P4 with afifth standard sealing panel, bounded by lines of weakness in the formof score lines S1, S2, S3 and S4 there among. The body panels P1 to P4are bounded at their lower edges by further lines of weakness in theform of score lines S5 to S8 and thereby divided from a row of endclosure portions P6 to P9. Similarly, the row of body panels P1 to

P4 are bounded at their upper edges by further lines of weakness in theform of score lines S9 to S11 and thereby divided from a row of topobturating panels P10, P11 and P13. A top obturating panel P12 is notseparated from the adjacent body portion P3 located immediately inwardlytherefrom by a physical score line, but there is an unseen line ofweakness at a boundary between the panels P3 and P12 where the topobturating panel P12 will fold relative to the body panel P3 when thecontainer 4 is constructed from the container blank 2. The panels P10and P12 are quadrangular and form respective quadrangular roof panels ofthe gable-topped container 4, whilst the panels P11 and P13 are alsoquadrangular but each divided by respective oblique score lines S12,S13, S14 and S15 into three substantially triangular sub-panels P11 a toP11 c and P13 a to P13 c. The row of top obturating panels P10 to P13are bounded at their upper edges by a row of top-sealing panels P14 toP17 to form a sealing fin 6 of the container 4 (see FIG. 2). The front,top obturating panel P12 is formed with a through-hole 8 (oralternatively a loop of weakness in the case of aseptic packaging) towhich is applied a pour spout fitment 10 (see FIG. 2).

In producing the container 4 from the blank 2 shown in FIG. 1, the blank2 is converted into a container sleeve which is of rectangularcross-section and in which the body panels P1 to P4 form a loop aroundthe sleeve and the top closure panels P10 to P13 form a loop around thesleeve. The end closure panels P6 to P9 are folded on a mandrel to forman end closure. Following the folding of the end closure panels P6 toP9, these panels are sealed on the mandrel to form a bottom closure. Thesealing comprises heating and pressing together the panels P6 to P9 torender the thermoplastics layers tacky in order to create a sealedbottom closure. Alternatively, other methods of sealing could be used,such as gluing in which case heating would not be necessary. Afterfilling of the container 4, the top closure is formed by forming the finseal 6 in a known manner. Then, a flange of the pour spout fitment 10(see FIG. 2) could be attached to the outside surface of the topobturating sub-panel P12 by, for example, ultrasonic welding over theloop of weakness 8. Alternatively, the flange of the pour spout fitment10 could be applied to the inside of the sub-panel P12 prior to fillingwith the pour spout protruding through the hole 8. The container 4 wouldbe suitable for use in the aseptic or non-aseptic packaging of liquids.

Referring to FIG. 3, a laminate packaging material comprises apaperboard substrate 100, an outer layer of thermoplastics material 102,an inner layer of thermoplastics material 104 and a barrier layer suchas an oxygen barrier layer 106 disposed between the paperboard substrate100 and the inner layer of thermoplastics material 104. Upon forming ofthe container blank 2, the pair of rollers between which the packagingmaterial passes may be arranged, through compression of the outer layerof thermoplastics 102 and the surface of the paperboard layer 100 facingthe outer layer of thermoplastics 102, to make at least one line ofdepression 12 in the surface of the material that will form the outsidesurface 14 of the final container, whilst the corresponding insidesurface 16 remains smooth and flat. This can be achieved by having adesired pattern made of one or more depression devices on one of therollers that will contact the outside surface 14, whilst thecorresponding location on the other roller is smooth. In this way, theline of depression 12 would be visible on the outside surface but not bevisible on the inside surface.

Prior to the container blank 2 being converted into the containersleeve, a grip enhancing substance 18 can be deposited into the line(s)of depression 12, so that the substance 18 is contained in the line(s)of depression 12 and does not spill out onto the outermost surface ofthe outside surface 14. The substance can be in the form of afriction-increasing substance. In this way, the friction-increasingsubstance 18 is retained in the location it is most required.

In the filling machine, container blanks with different surface frictionproperties, such as the case when gripping elements or the like areadhered to the outside surface of a container and project outwardlytherefrom, will often require different adjustments of the fillingmachine which lead to different performance in the filling machine whenpicking the blank from a magazine, loading blanks onto the mandrel,transferring the container off the mandrel into chain pockets, orientingof the container in the chain pocket throughout the filling machine andfinally top sealing. The combination of the line(s) of depression 12with the friction-increasing substance 18 contained within the line(s)of depression 12 will not have a deleterious influence on the fillingmachine performance.

The friction-increasing substance 18 is advantageously a fluid substancebefore it is applied, for example a high-friction ink or varnish. Ahigh-friction ink or varnish is composed of modified acrylic resins,which behave like rubber material (relatively very elastic with arelatively high degree of flexibility) resulting in anti-slipproperties. Furthermore, high-friction ink or varnish does not containany silicones or waxes, known as slip agents.

The friction-increasing substance 18 may be deposited in the line(s) ofdepression 12 during the same process as the other inks used for decorof the container are applied, for example, in a UV-printing processcarried out at a separate ink station. Ultraviolet (UV) printing is arelatively fast process since there is no waiting around for inks todry. Thus, the friction-increasing substance 18 can be selected to curewhen exposed to UV radiation as do the inks used in this process.However, other methods of printing the container decor can be used witha suitable friction-increasing substance 18 being selectableaccordingly.

In this way, the friction-increasing substance 18 can be applied invarious degrees to have different degrees of friction and/or zones offriction, and other tactile features without interfering with theproduction process. This facilitates the stacking and unstacking of theflat container blanks or sleeves since the friction-increasing substance18 is wholly contained within the line(s) of depression 12 and does notinterfere with contact with and processing of another adjacent containerblank or sleeve.

By acquiring such a container 4, a consumer would experience an enhancedgrip on the container. This is particularly advantageous for thoseconsumers who may have visual and/or physical impairment. Use of thecontainer 4 reduces the risk of spilling of liquid food contents duringpouring and the risk of dropping the container 4.

The line(s) of depression 12 can be arranged in a particular desiredpattern to achieve optimal gripping properties, much like the tread of avehicle tyre which is designed to provide a surface to grip the groundsurface along which the vehicle travels. In this way, the line(s) ofdepression 12 clearly indicate how the container 4 should be handled bythe consumer.

Owing to the inside surface 16 of the material being unadulterated bythe line(s) of depression 12, it remains smooth and flat so that surfacecan be sterilized efficiently. Such a smooth and flat inside surface isideal for the sterilization process since there are no ridges orcrinkles in the packaging material in which bacteria and othermicrobiological organisms can continue to survive post-sterilization.

The depth of the line(s) of depression 12 is/are preferably less thanhalf the thickness of the paperboard layer, and most preferably lessthan a quarter of the thickness of the paperboard layer, in order toensure that a minimal amount of the substance 18 is used and that therewould be sufficient contact between skin of the consumer's fingers andthe substance 18.

The areas of the outside surface 14 which are not compressed to form theline(s) of depression 12 remain relatively smooth as with knowncontainers of this kind. The line(s) of depression 12 therefore visuallyand/or tactilely delineate for the consumer one or more gripping zones20 for an advantageous handling of the container 4.

The container 4 of FIG. 2 has a side body panel P2 with a plurality ofgripping zones 20 delineated by a plurality of the line(s) of depression12. One gripping zone 20 is formed from a pattern of substantiallycircular lines of depression 12 and another is formed from a pattern ofa plurality of wave-from line(s) of depression 12. The opposite sidebody panel may be supplied with an identical pattern or a differingpattern to take account of the way a consumer's fingers are positionedduring the holding of the container 4. The position and pattern of theline(s) of depression 12 on the body panel P2 may also differ dependingon the size of the container 4. The differing gripping zones 20 shown donot have to be provided together, such that they are independent of eachother and can be of any desired shape and pattern. The pattern of thesubstantially circular lines of depression 12 shown are slightlyinclined relative to the horizontal from a junction between the sidebody panel P2 and the rear body panel P1 to the junction between theside body panel P2 and the front body panel P3. This enables theconsumer to take a natural grip of the container 4. The respectiveopposite side body panels P2 and P4 and the respective opposite topobturating panels P11 b and P13 b may further comprise linear weaknesses22 to indicate to the consumer where to fold the container for wastedisposal/recycling once all of the liquid food content has been emptiedout of the container 4 or for the facilitating of complete emptying ofliquids of relatively high viscosity, such as yoghurt, from thecontainer 4 by squeezing any residual liquid content from the foldedcontainer 4. The linear weaknesses 22 do not pass through the grippingzones 20, but indicate to the consumer general fold lines for collapsingthe container 4.

The wave-form lines of depression 12 may be continuous as shown, or theymay be discontinuous.

The gripping zones 20 may also form an area for specific printingrelating to the handling of the container, which printing may take theform of text and/or images.

1. Packaging material for forming a container having respective oppositefirst and second surfaces, and comprising a row of body portion formingpanels arranged side-by-side, the boundaries between said panels beingdefined by respective boundary lines of weakness extending from top tobottom of said panels substantially perpendicularly to said row, atleast one body portion forming panel including a line of depression inthe first surface, the line of depression having a grip enhancingsubstance deposited therein.
 2. Packaging material according to claim 1,wherein the grip enhancing substance is a friction-increasing material.3. Packaging material according to claim 1, wherein the grip enhancingsubstance is a high-friction ink or varnish.
 4. Packaging materialaccording to claim 3, wherein the high-friction ink or varnish iscomposed of modified acrylic resins.
 5. Packaging material according toclaim 1, wherein said packaging material further comprises a laminatepackaging material comprising a paperboard substrate, a first layer ofthermoplastics material on the first planar surface, and on the secondplanar surface, a second layer of thermoplastics material and a barrierlayer disposed between the paperboard substrate and the second layer ofthermoplastics material, the line of depression being formed in thefirst layer of thermoplastics and the surface of the paperboard layerfacing the first layer of theremoplastics.
 6. Packaging materialaccording to claim 1, wherein the grip enhancing substance is whollycontained within the line of depression.
 7. Packaging material accordingto claim 5, wherein the depth of the line of depression is less thanhalf the thickness of the paperboard substrate.
 8. Packaging materialaccording to claim 1, wherein a plurality of lines of depression formone or more gripping zones on the at least one body portion formingpanel.
 9. Packaging material according to claim 1, wherein a line ofdepression is present on second and fourth body portion forming panelsin a row of first, second, third and fourth body portion forming panels.10. A container comprising a loop of body panels, the boundaries betweensaid panels being defined by respective boundary lines of weaknessextending from top to bottom of said panels substantiallyperpendicularly to said loop, each body panel having respective outsideand inside planar surfaces, the outside surface at least one of the bodypanels including a line of depression, the line of depression having agrip enhancing substance deposited therein.
 11. A container according toclaim 10, wherein the grip enhancing substance is a friction-increasingmaterial.
 12. A container according to claim 10, wherein the gripenhancing substance is a high-friction ink or varnish.
 13. A containeraccording to claim 12, wherein the high-friction ink or varnish iscomposed of modified acrylic resins.
 14. A container according to claim10, said container being comprised of a laminate packaging materialcomprising a paperboard substrate, a first layer of thermoplasticsmaterial on the first planar surface, and on the second planar surface,a second layer of thermoplastics material and a barrier layer disposedbetween the paperboard substrate and the second layer of thermoplasticsmaterial, the line of depression being formed in the first layer ofthermoplastics and the surface of the paperboard layer facing the firstlayer of theremoplastics.
 15. A container according to claim 10, whereinthe grip enhancing substance is wholly contained within the line ofdepression.
 16. A container according to claim 14, wherein the depth ofthe line of depression is less than half the thickness of the paperboardsubstrate.
 17. A container according to claim 10, wherein a plurality oflines of depression form one or more gripping zones on the at least onebody panel.
 18. A container according to claim 10, wherein a line ofdepression is present on opposite body panels in the loop.
 19. A methodof forming a container blank of sheet material comprising marking thesheet material with a pattern of lines of weakness defining body portionforming panels of the container blank, the container blank havingrespective opposite first and second p-ta-nar surfaces, forming a lineof depression in the first surface of at least one of the body portionforming panels and depositing a grip enhancing substance in said line ofdepression.
 20. A method according to claim 19, wherein the containerblank comprises a laminate packaging material comprising a paperboardsubstrate, a first layer of thermoplastics material on the first planarsurface, and on the second planar surface, a second layer ofthermoplastics material and a barrier layer disposed between thepaperboard substrate and the second layer of thermoplastics material,the forming of the line of depression being by compression of the firstlayer of thermoplastics and the surface of the paperboard layer facingthe first layer of theremoplastics.
 21. A method according to claim 20,wherein the compression comprises compressing the line of depression toa depth of less than half the thickness of the paperboard substrate. 22.A method according to claim 19, wherein the depositing of the gripenhancing substance is by an ultra-violet printing process.